Today I will be reviewing the Gunkid DX re-issue, made by Sonokong/Takara. The sample for today's review was provided graciously by our friends over at Big Bad Toy Store.

Without getting into too much detail....Gunkid appears in the anime, Brave Command Dagwon as a enemy to start off with but then decides to defect from the evil side on the Sargasso prison asteriod and join the Brave Command Dagwon team.

To start off with, the packaging is exactly what I am beginning to accept as the norm for these Sonokong Brave re-issues. A heavy corrugated cardboard box with great pictures of the toy inside of the toy in all its modes. Quality, all the way.

Robot Mode

Moving on to the figure inside, Gunkid stands approximately 8.5 inches tall in robot mode and weighs in at just slightly under 1 lb. The figure is comprised of high quality plastics with metal screw holding it together. The combination of the two materials gives the figure a nice solid feel.

I am sure you Super Robot Fans see shades of Texas Mack or Bismark in this figure. The western motif is strong throughout the aesthetics of this toy.

The first cool gimmick is Gunkid's old west style out-law mask that can conceal or reveal the lower half of his face. Also note that on the left and right shoulders, Gunkid has move-able cannons.

As you may have noticed in the first photo above, Gunkid has a cute looking set of mini-wings. Fortunately those mini-wings can be extended giving Gunkid a more flight capable appearance.

Like Power Dagwon, Gunkid also has an impressive amount of articulation for a Brave Series toy. Check out the pics below. *Also note that the gun barrel doubles as a cool, albeit large jet pack.

As I mentioned above, Gunkids western theme is all over this figure. Check out the spurs on the backside of the legs! Giddy up horsey! Note the tank treads, they are part of the next mode.

Tank Mode

Gunkid can transform into what basically is a giant Bazooka on tank treads. In this mode Gunkid is able to shoot foam projectiles shown further down in the review. Sorry guys, no eye blinding goodness in this toy.

Jet Mode

Jet mode is a pretty cool mode that uses the sight as the cockpit and the cannon as the fuselage. Landing gear extend down from the split trigger handle. You can clearly see those unfolded wings I spoke earlier were meant for this mode.

Bazooka/Hand gun mode

Gun mode utilizes the foam projectiles I mentioned above. In this mode you can use Gunkid as a hand gun or a massive Bazooka for Fire Dagwon/Power Dagwon or use in conjunction with Gunkid's mentor, Lian (sword) to defend Super Fire Dagwon against evil.

Here is Lian (sword above) with his student, Gunkid. I will be covering Lian in a later review.

Initially I didn't care much for Gunkid. I felt the western theme was really hokey, until after I have played with it a bit. Gunkid has really grown on me and is now one of my favorite figures from Brave Command Dagwon. To sum it up, Gunkid is a quality figure with tons of play value, making it a must have!

Comments

Okay, I'm impressed! It doesn't have as much of a "intentionally gimmicky"-look to it as most combining robots do today, I've noticed. The poseability does look awesome too.
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CollectionDX Staff

Man, this is the most tempting Brave robot yet! If only that big honkin' gun barrel wasn't attached to his back. The western motif on the rest of the robot is pure win.

Let me add that I really dig the little animation snippets you include in each review. I was never exposed to these particular shows as a kid, so it's very nifty to see them in action. The animation is exactly what I love to see in a robot show--with all the meshing gears and pistons during a henshin/gattai, shooting steam, etc. Bliss!

Actually anime wise Braves transforming into giant guns has been going since Fighbird (Thunder Baron turns into a giant gun for Super Guardion and Great Fighbird to fire). Shadowmaru and Advenger also come to mind.